Crazy Blue and the Old Man
by xenowriter
Summary: Peebee meets Drack on Eos.


Crazy Blue and the Old Man

Swinging her satchel around, Peebee whistled softly to herself as she walked towards the old Initiative site. "Still looks like a mess. Tsk tsk." She shook her head. Not a piece of the site was moved. Climbing up the stairs, she was met with the closed lock doors and cleared her throat as she smiled up at the camera that was positioned right in the corner. "Hey, Clancy. I'm back." Her hand waving at the lens that showed her reflection.

There was a few second delay before a voice crackled over the speaker, "Crazy Blue." The man chuckled. "You're back early."

"I'm heading out further this afternoon so I need to stock up." She lifted her satchel up. "I brought presents," She sang.

The doors opened and the young black haired man motioned her inside swiftly. Just as her body cleared the opening, he closed the doors. Peebee rested her hand on her hip as she watched him walk over to pull out the crates of supplies. "Nice welcoming."

"There has been more kett activity in the region. I saw their vehicles along the ridge a few nights ago. With the generator offline, the ruse of no one here is working." Clancy stepped aside to allow the asari move past him to dig through what he had as he dug through her bag for payment. "It's getting more dangerous each time you come here."

Peebee froze and looked back at him. "Awe, come on, Clancy. I'm careful." She knew where the conversation was going. It would take hours to salvage the abandoned outposts and more difficult to transport all the supplies since she traveled from day to day. She didn't know how strict this young man would be. Would he really send her away at gunpoint? Nervously eying the room, Peebee noticed there were no weapons in sight. It didn't mean he didn't have any hidden. This guy really seemed on edge about the kett. Who could blame him? He was alone and most of his friends either fled back to the Nexus or were taken captive by the kett.

"I'm serious, Blue." Clancy cupped his face with his hands. The underlining of his eyes were dark from lack of sleep. "You are bat shit crazy just roaming around freely out there."

This made Peebee give him an evil grin. "That's why you call me 'Crazy Blue.'"

Wiping the sweat off her brow, Peebee stopped to catch her breath as her eyes looked across the body of water that divided the terrain. "Okay…let's see what we have here." Logging into her omni tool, she pulled up the map of the landscape and touched her location to mark it. Shifting her gaze down the small slope that led to the water, she noticed a Remnant console. "Ah-hah! Peebee, you are magnificent." Satisfied, she giggled as she slid down the slope and skipped towards the console. "Sure wish the heat wasn't unbearable. Then again…beats the radiation in other spots." Wiping a sweat bead that was slowly racing down her cheek, she examined the console. To her disappointed, nothing else Remnant was nearby. There was some type of design just feet away that looked to be the remainder of once a bridge that could have connected to the island out in the middle of the lake. Chewing her lip, she did a quick scan with her omni and just as she suspected, the water was contaminated and not feasible for swimming. Groaning loudly, Peebee returned back to the console and hit the top of it with her fist. "This is so not fair! It has to be something out there! It makes perfect sense! There could be tons of Remnant artifacts or even the key to unlock whatever it is!"

Hearing gravel move behind her, she whirled around to see two kett soldiers just feet away with their guns drawn on her. Why didn't she hear them? Reacting quickly, she moved to draw her side arm. She knew it was going to be close and everything felt like it was going in slow motion. Suddenly, one kett soldier howled in pain before green blood exploded from his body. The second spun around to face its attacker, but was pierced with a serrated blade. Its lifeless form dropped revealing a grinning yellow skinned krogan. He wore battle armor and bones were decorated near the top. His sharp incisors glistened by the sun. Realizing that some of the kett's blood had splattered on her body, Peebee recoiled quickly and wiped the liquid off with a look of disgust. "Eww."

This made the krogan delightfully laugh. "What's the harm of that? A krogan wears it proudly like a badge of honor." He then smiled bigger. "Want to know what it tastes like?"

Peebee stopped. "You have to be kidding…." Her jaw dropped as the nauseating thought of tasting such a vile thing entered her mind.

He didn't flinch. "Blood is blood, but the blood of your enemy is always sweeter."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, thank you for that charming notion."

"By the all mighty quads, what the hell are you doing out here? Leaving yourself exposed like that is stupid as a salarian on Tuchanka." He tucked away his weapon and followed her back to the console.

"I'm investigating more of this Remnant technology. It's scattered all over this planet." She knelt down to examine the base of the console. "I just need to figure out how to make it work."

"Hmph. Better to just leave it alone."

Peebee rolled her eyes again and ignored the advice. "So what brings a krogan out here? I didn't think your kind had an ark."

"We don't." He replied sharply. "My clan was asked to tag along when the Nexus departed. Just like the council races to want the krogan there for protection. I guess we were not good enough for an ark."

Standing back up, Peebee turned around to face him. She could tell by his skin tone that he was older than most of his kind that she encountered in her past life in the Milky Way galaxy. Krogan skin varied: Brighter shades were for younger ones and duller for the elder. "Do you think your species would have wanted their own ark to go with us?"

He shrugged. "Some, but not most. As for what I'm doing out here, I'm killing them." His foot kicked the bloodied dead kett body before him.

"Well, thank you, um…what's your name?"

"I'm Drack of Clan Nakmor."

"I'm Peebee. Nice to meet you."

Drack scratched his head. "Peebee isn't an asari name."

Peebee scrunched her face. "Oh? You are an expert of the Asari? My real name is Pelessaria B' Sayle. Is that better?"

"Too long. Peebee it is."

"So Draaack," She retorted with an emphasis on his name. "Where's the rest of your clan if they came with the Nexus?"

"Most of them followed Morda to Eladeen. I do better on my own and I heard this place was filled with challenges. I like them."

"I'm the same way…well for being on my own." Peebee kicked the dirt with her boot as her eyes moved back to where she was previously. "If we are finished, I need to get back. I only have a few hours left of daylight."

Drack stood there and watched Peebee return to her work. "It gets scarier out here at night."

"I know."

"I can't keep saving you," He huffed.

"I didn't ask for it!" Her voice rose in aggravation as she whirled around to confront him.

"Just stay out of my way. Even a pyjak knows when to run." His words lingered as he turned to head back up the ridge.

Peebee sighed as she watched his form start to become smaller and smaller. For some reason, she suddenly felt more alone on Eos than before. "What a cranky old man."

Defeated at her find about an hour later, Peebee was heading back to her makeshift shelter: a cave that was a labyrinth filled with dead ends and long tunnels. Even if the kett stumbled upon it, she practically memorized every tunnel that led to her home that she could find a way out. She managed to use of the supplies she got from Clancy to rig up an alarm system should any of the wildlife decide to barge in. Her feet ached and her body longed for a nice hot bath. Suddenly, the sound of a rover caught her attention. She looked to the east and saw a white vehicle tear through the sand in the same direction as one of the monoliths she first discovered months ago. "That's not kett…" Watching the strangers make a beeline to the monolith, she sprinted as fast as she could to follow. She had to be careful to take an alternate path to avoid any of the radiation contaminated zones.

Just as she felt her legs wanting to give out from under her from the exhaustion, Peebee reached the monolith and heard distant voices conversing. Setting her satchel down, she crept through the rock crevices to get closer. She saw three humans together standing at the base of the monolith scanning the Remnant remains. One was of darker skin, a male, who seemed to take point to watch their backs. The other, a female blonde, followed another who appeared to be the leader. She was also female with red hair that barely touched her shoulders. She seemed to be very interested in the console. Mesmerized by her, Peebee inched closer to see what she was going to do. Watching the foreign woman extend her hand to touch the console, Peebee panicked and darted out from her cover. "Wait!"


End file.
